Los Angeles residents have turned in a record number of guns this year in the area's annual Gifts for Guns exchange. Residents hard hit by the economy and unemployment are pulling firearms out from under their beds and the backs of closets and turning them in for food and other necessary staples.
In the annual program, the Los Angeles County Sheriff''s Department allows residents to anonymously relinquish firearms in exchange for $100 gift cards for Ralph's supermarkets, Target or Best Buy. Turning in an assault rifle doubles your gift. Operating in several major U.S. metropolitan areas, gun exchange programs like the one in L.A. were initiated to pull guns off the streets and decrease gun and gang violence in volatile urban areas.
In previous years L.A. residents preferred to go holiday shopping with Target or Best Buy cards. This year, most have asked for supermarket cards, said Sgt. Byron Woods. "People just don't have the money to buy the food these days," he said, noting that most program participants are "family people." "One guy said he had just got laid off from his job," said Woods. "He turned in five guns and said it would really help him to put food on the family's table." The sheriff's department expects to collect 1,000 weapons this year.
"California weapons charges are serious and come with jail time," warns Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. In California, it is illegal to possess a gun without a permit, possess an assault weapon, possess an illegal weapon (knives, daggers, brass knuckles, nunchucks, etc.) or possess a firearm if you are an ex-felon. It is illegal to brandish or discharge a firearm, sell a firearm illegally or use a gun to commit a crime.
Gun and weapons charges are aggressively prosecuted in California. Most weapons offenses are charged as felonies under California law; however, possession can be charged as a misdemeanor. In the hands of an astute and experienced criminal defense attorney, the type of weapon involved, how it's being used, whether it's loaded or concealed, and the individual's record can impact the charge. Because California uses determinate sentencing, the nature of the crime can significantly affect sentencing.
